symptoms of

 
A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within.
One whose happiness is within, who is active within, who rejoices within and is illumined within, is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.    (More...)
Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness. This state is called brahma-bhūta, attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home.    (More...)
Equanimity of mind is the sign of self-realization.
Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman.    (More...)
Equanimity of mind, as mentioned above, is the sign of self-realization. Those who have actually attained to such a stage should be considered to have conquered material conditions, specifically birth and death. As long as one identifies with this body, he is considered a conditioned soul, but as soon as he is elevated to the stage of equanimity through realization of self, he is liberated from conditional life. In other words, he is no longer subject to take birth in the material world but can enter into the spiritual sky after his death. The Lord is flawless because He is without attraction or hatred. Similarly, when a living entity is without attraction or hatred, he also becomes flawless and eligible to enter into the spiritual sky. Such persons are to be considered already liberated, and their symptoms are described below.    (More...)
It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and anger.
lf one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the tongue. One who is able to control the forces of all these different senses, and the mind, is called gosvami, or svami. Such gosvamis live strictly controlled lives, and forego altogether the forces of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must practice to control them before one gives up this material body. One who can do this is understood to be self-realized and is thus happy in the state of self-realization. It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and anger.    (More...)
It is not possible to control the senses by denying them absolutely. Activity is the symptom of the living entity. Lord Krishna says that one cannot remain inactive for even a moment. Therefore the senses must be engaged. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna enumerates ways whereby the mind and senses can be engaged in self realization and thus controlled. There is the very difficult path of meditation, Samkhya yoga, according to which one must select a seat in complete solitude, sit erect and cross-legged, refrain completely from all sex life, stare at the tip of his nose, regulate his breathing, shut out all external objects and go into a trance meditating on the Super Soul within. This was recommended for the previous age and is practically impossible now. It is certainly impractical for Westerners whose legs ache after about fifteen minutes of lotus posture, what to speak of days. Another method for controlling the senses is Karma yoga, which is the process of engaging the senses in action and work in a spirit of detachment and renunciation. And a third method is Jnana yoga, by which the senses are engaged in the study of scripture. All of these culminate in Bhakti yoga, which is the highest, easiest and most profitable method for this or any age. In Bhakti yoga, the senses are controlled by total devotion to the Supreme. One classic example of total devotion was Maharaj Amburish who adopted all the processes of devotional service and attained perfect success. It was he who engaged his mind on the Lotus Feet of the Lord, his voice in describing the spiritual worlds, his hands in cleansing the temple of the Lord, his ears in submissively hearing the words of Lord Sri Krishna, his eyes in visualizing the Deities of the Lord, his body in touching the bodies of the devotees, his nostrils in smelling the flowers offered to the Lord, his tongue in tasting the food offered to the Lord, his legs in visiting the temple of the Lord, and all the energy of his life in executing the services of the Lord without in the least desiring his own sense gratification. All of these enabled him to be completely successful in controlling the senses. It should be noted that he did not control his senses by trying to negate them, by trying to meditate on the void or even by practicing austerities. For, after all, he was speaking and working, associating with others, eating, traveling about, smelling flowers. He led a life of full engagement. Yet his senses were perfectly controlled because they were absorbed in the service of Krishna. So it is not that we have to deny our senses. In fact, this is not possible. But we must engage our senses positively, following in the footsteps of Maharaj Amburish. One who can control his senses in such a way is called a swami, for the senses are actually acting under his order. "Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogi and is happy in this world." (Gita, 5.23)    (More...)
One who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth, O mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense gratification.
The knower of the Absolute Truth is convinced of his awkward position in material association. He knows that he is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, and that his position should not be in the material creation. He knows his real identity as part and parcel of the Supreme, who is eternal bliss and knowledge, and he realizes that somehow or other he is entrapped in the material conception of life. In his pure state of existence he is meant to dovetail his activities in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. He therefore engages himself in the activities of Krsna consciousness and becomes naturally unattached to the activities of the material senses, which are all circumstantial and temporary. He knows that his material condition of life is under the supreme control of the Lord; consequently he is not disturbed by all kinds of material reactions, which he considers to be the mercy of the Lord. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam, one who knows the Absolute Truth in three different features-namely Brahman, Paramatma, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead-is called tattvavit, for he knows also his own factual position in relationship with the Supreme.    (More...)
What are fruitive activities? The Lord says, "And action pertaining to the development of these material bodies is called karma, or fruitive activities." (8.3) In the Third Chapter, 28th verse, Krsna says: "One who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth, O mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense gratification, knowing well the differences between work in devotion and work for fruitive results." In the Fourth Chapter, 19th verse, He adds: "One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every act is devoid of desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker whose fruitive action is burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge." Fruitive activity, therefore, refers to all activities which have for their object self gratification, and conversely the patḥ to freedom (freedom from the control of the senses, which are dragging us into one body after another to enjoy or suffer according to karma) leads to surrendering the results of all actions to Krsna-and that is Krsna's final summary instruction in the Bhagavad-gita: "Give up all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me; and in return I shall protect you from all sinful reactions." (18.66) Thus from beginning to end, the teaching of the Gita is one: that the living entity should surrender to the Supreme Lord by engaging himself in full Krsna consciousness according to his own particular talent or duty. Whatever he can do just do it for Krsna.    (More...)
That is the test in spiritual realization. Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together.
Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure or external objects but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.    (More...)
"Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Krsna, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste." A person in brahma-yoga, or Krsna consciousness, is so absorbed in the loving service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material sense pleasure altogether. The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation. But a person engaged in Krsna consciousness can work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids. That is the test in spiritual realization. Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together. A Krsna conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure due to his being a liberated soul.    (More...)
Because sensory pleasures are all temporary, in the end they leave nothing but ashes in the mouth. They are like poison, and so the wise have nothing to do with them. And here it is clearly stated that a person who is liberated, and in Krsna consciousness, has no desire for them. It is not simply that he refrains from them, but he has actually lost the taste. That means that he is actually drinking of the pleasure of Krsna. It is something like being asked to eat a second time after being fully satisfied by good food. Sri Yamunacarya, a great devotee in Krsna consciousness, said: "Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Krsna, realizing every new encouragement in the matter of self pleasure, whenever I think of sex pleasure I spit at the thought, and my mouth becomes bitter with distaste." A person in Krsna consciousness is so absorbed in Krsna that he has no taste for sense pleasure, not even the highest form of material pleasure, sex pleasure. Actually, the whole world is moving under the spell of this sex motivation, but a person in Krsna consciousness is free from such bondage and works with greater vigor as a result. This is the test of spiritual progress, namely, how much am I becoming detached from matter, or how much taste do I have for sense pleasure? Just as the test for a man's recovery from disease is the gradual decrease in fever, so when the fever of sense gratification goes down one knows well that he is making advancement. So as long as I am still feeling some desire for material sense pleasure, I should know well that I am not yet fully situated in that transcendental position of drinking freely from the well of Krsna, for when that day comes, certainly I will spit at the highest conceptions of this material world.    (More...)
The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self.
A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, unbewildered, and who knows the science of God, is to be understood as already situated in Transcendence.    (More...)
The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body, but is the fragmental portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence. He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects. This is called Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady consciousness is called Krsna consciousness.    (More...)
True yogīs or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.
Material sense pleasures are due to the contact of the material senses, which are all temporary because the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure? In the Padma Purana it is said:    (More...)
"The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rama."    (More...)
"My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and, as a result, you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss." (Bhag. 5.5.1)    (More...)
Therefore, those who are true yogis or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.    (More...)
All the Vedas, all the book of knowledge, their business is how to search out God. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. So the whole Vedanta is description of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But because in this Kali-yuga people will not be able to study Vedanta nicely on account of lack of education, therefore Vyasadeva personally wrote a commentary on the Vedanta. That commentary is Srimad-Bhagavatam. Bhasyam brahma-sūtranam. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the real commentary on the Vedanta-sūtra written by the author himself. The Vedanta-sūtra is also given by Vyasadeva, and under the instruction of Narada, his spiritual master... [aside: Get this light on.] ...he wrote commentary on the Vedanta-sūtra. That is Srimad-Bhagavatam. And Srimad-Bhagavatam also begins with the same aphorism, janmady asya yataḥ anvayad itaratas ca arthesu abhijnah sva-rat [SB 1.1.1]. So actually, Vedanta-sūtra is explained by the author of the Vedanta in Srimad-Bhagavatam. So some rascals, without understanding Vedanta, without reading the commentary, natural commentary of the Vedanta-sūtra they are posing themselves as Vedantist. That means they are misguiding people. And because people are not educated, they're accepting these rascals as Vedantists. Actually, the so-called Vedantists, they are bluffers. They are not Vedantists. They do not know anything of the Vedanta. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, what is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, that is real Vedanta. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said, jivasya tattva-jijnasa. That is Vedanta-sutra-bhasya. Find out this verse.    (More...)
One is bound to be thus entangled by materialistic life as long as Krsna is veiled to one's sight. Man cannot continue to live by thinking that life has no meaning. He will give it the meaning of sense enjoyment if no other is available. "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." This means that death is inevitable and life has no meaning, so let's squeeze out as much sense gratification as possible in our brief sixty of seventy years. But according to Bhagavad-gita, the man who lives only for the senses lives in vain. "An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them." (Gita 5.22) It is said that the wise dwell in the world like the lotus leaf on water. The leaf of the lotus, although on the water, remains dry, and in the same way the wise man, though in the world of the senses, is unattached to them. He witnesses the flux of existence but is not carried away by it, for he is established in the divine consciousness. Consequently he does not experience nausea or fear even in the midst of the most terrifying calamities, for his consciousness is nonmaterial. Those who delight only in the senses are constantly in a state of anxiety. "Their belief is that to gratify the senses unto the end of life is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus there is no measurement of their anxiety." (Gita 16.11) And those who say that life is absurd and meaningless, that there is no Absolute in control, and that the universe results simply from a chance combination of material elements are declared in the Gita to be demonic in nature. "Those who are of demoniac quality … say that this world is unreal, that there is neither any foundation, nor any God in control. They say that it is produced of sex desire and has no other cause than lust." (Gita 16.8) Thus being under delusion, men are unaware of the purpose of life, which is to extricate oneself from the material desires causing conditioned existence and to enter into a relationship with the Divine who bestows total spiritual freedom upon the individual.    (More...)

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